Onboarding, which is the process of adding new employees to a company, can be a tricky period of time for all involved. The company and its longstanding employees want to move forward and continue with the work they’re in the middle of, without slowing down or pressing pause. The new hire (or hires) have several things to get used to–perhaps a new schedule, office, and/or commute. This is, of course, in addition to the new work they’re undertaking. Figuring out how to use different programs for scheduling meetings, getting comfortable with their assignments, and even meeting coworkers can be a lot to get used to.

Here are some suggestions for effectively communicating with your new hires:

Periodically check in with them to make sure they feel supported: Even if they don’t have many questions, they will appreciate that people are looking out for them.

Ease new hires in: Giving them too much work at the beginning can be overwhelming (and it might not get done the way you want it–there will likely be a learning curve involved).

Give them several points of contact: Give them the contact information for anyone that may be able to help them in the future. This could be other members on their team, someone who has been with the company for a while, or someone who can help them with technological issues.

Don’t be overbearing: Staying in touch is great, but it will be difficult for employees to get their work done if they’re interrupted every 20 minutes.

Make their duties and obligations clear: The aforementioned learning curve will be much more shallow if employees know exactly what is expected of them.

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It’s imperative that there’s a strong sense of communication between the new hire and the rest of the company. Otherwise, information can get lost in translation. The last thing a company wants is for a new employee to fall behind, which could, in turn, mean that the company falls behind, and the hire wants to do their best to succeed in their new position. Remember that a little communication goes a long way!